'Lost in Thailand' tops 'Titanic 3D' in China

The 3-D re-release of James Cameron's "Titanic" in early 2012 was a worldwide box-office success (though nowhere near the scale of the original 1997 movie's theatrical run), and it performed best in China. The re-release grossed over $100 million, outperforming even the original's take in that country.

However, that record has been trumped by an unlikely local movie.

"Lost in Thailand," a low-budget comedy about two businessmen searching Thailand for their boss, has grossed $160 million since its mid-December debut. That makes it the highest-grossing Chinese film ever and catapults it past "Titanic 3D," which was the biggest foreign film in China in 2012, according to the Associated Press.

However, "Lost in Thailand" is still not the highest-grossing movie in Chinese history. That distinction still goes to Cameron, whose blockbuster "Avatar" touched a nerve with the Chinese people (and even borrowed some imagery from the Chinese landscape) and grossed $182 million in 2010.

The previous record-holder for biggest Chinese film was "Painted Skin: The Resurrection," which grossed $116.5 million in 2012.

Besides being the biggest grossing Chinese movie ever, "Lost in Thailand" also holds the distinction of being the first Chinese film to cross 1 billion yuan in grosses.